1. Swim meets show you who your real friends are.
Let's be honest, if you're not a swimmer or if you're not at a championship meet, swim meets are extremely boring. There have been countless times I've asked my friends to come to my swim meets, like senior recognition or a college meet in my home town. About 99.9% of the time they don't show. For that 0.1% of people that do show up, keep them around. These people are seriously your friends! The fact that they sat through 2+ hours of something they have no clue about in 80 degree weather is pretty epic, and it makes you feel awesome too.
2. You can't let your mind get the best of you.
Any swimmer knows how mentally intense swimming is. With a majority of sports, the players can hear their coach yelling at them constantly from the sidelines. In swimming, there's only a brief 1-30 seconds of rest on the wall before you push off for another 100, 200, etc. It's very easy for your mind to get the best of you. There is no swimmer on the planet not guilty of having conversations with themselves while swimming a ridiculously long set. That can either drive you mentally insane or make you just a tab bit mentally stronger than the average bear. Not only in practice is mental toughness important, in meets when you're behind the blocks and your heart is pounding and you feel like you're going to puke everywhere you need to be able to tell your mind to shut the hell up and relax.
3. You're not always going to like everything you do in life; what's important is you have people to get you through it.
Swim practice is at the top of my list of things I do not like doing every day. There are very few swimmers who absolutely love going to practice (unless it's taper). In life though you're not going to love everything you have to do though. The reason I go to practice everyday is for my team. These girls are my best friends, and will be for the rest of my life. Nobody knows how hard it is to do what we do better than them. While swimming may be miserable 90% of the time the other 10% consists of some of the best memories of my life with my team. From bouncing off the walls in hotel rooms, to having jam sessions on the weekends, and lounging on the beach during training trip, makes all the hardships a little bit easier.
4. Giving up is not an option.
Whether it's while doing underwaters, writing a term paper, or doing a difficult project at work, giving up is not an option. Swimming has taught me this lesson many times over and over again. At least once a day the idea of quitting swimming and being a NARP crosses my mind, but as intriguing as that idea sounds, I know I could never quit. Swimming is like a drug; the high you get from racing is unlike any other feeling, and don't even get me started on winning. Swimming has taught me that no matter how difficult things may get, quitting isn't the answer because all your handwork will eventually reward you.
5. Waking up early can be kinda cool!
Yeah, sleeping in until noon is fun and all, but have you ever seen a Florida sunrise in January? It's pretty cool. So cool that it almost made me forget I was dying swimming a practice (haha). Swimmers wake up at the crack of dawn nearly every day; we get to see things the average college student doesn't see, like the Bonaventure campus freshly covered in snow with no footprints, it's breathtaking.
6. Pain is temporary, glory is forever.
Okay, I know this is beyond cliche but seriously. While practices test your mental and physical pain tolerance on a daily basis, you may want to give up, you may think it's not worth it, but winning easily makes you forget all the pain. Winning a sectional championship, or even just winning a race, is the validation for all the crazy workouts we put ourselves through during the week, month, or season. Just remember next time you do an underwater you will not die, you will not pass out, and you will out touch that girl you're racing when you she breathes off every wall and you can hold your breath longer than her.
7. You learn how to win and lose.
If I threw a hissy fit every time a lost a race, I'd be a bigger brat than the divas on toddlers and tiaras. There's always someone faster than you, just like there will always be someone smarter than you, or prettier than you, or wealthier than you are; you just have to accept it. It's not the end of the world if you lose. The beauty of swimming is that you can come dead last in a race but still have a personal victory because you bettered your time. The same goes for winning. There's nothing better than seeing your teammate's face after they get a best time, or win a race, it makes you want to succeed too. But remember, nobody likes a bragger. Go race Missy Franklin, then tell me how you did.
8. Being able to identify your strengths and weaknesses.
One of the first things my coach told me at my first college meet was that I have noodle arms. With a six-foot-one wing span and being terrified of the weight room, my arms were very noodle-y at the beginning of the season. I always knew it was one of my weaknesses, but my strength was that I can swing my arms like there's no tomorrow, something very helpful for sprinting. The same applies for life, I can't spell to save my life, but (embarrassing enough) I do math problem for fun. Also, shout out to swimming for giving me hours during practice to think of my strengths and weaknesses, it's a common thing I think about during practice.
9. It's okay to fail.
If you were lucky enough to witness my first 1000 freestyle race, you witnessed epic failure. But you know what? It's okay! The thing about failure is that it motivates you a billion time more for the next time you conquer that event. Nothing motivates you more than getting beat by an 11-year-old when you're 14. You can't let your failures keep you down. Think on the bright side, someone probably found your failure hilarious!
10. Your mom is the coolest person ever.
I may be a little bias in the situation but after having your mom as your coach for 4 years, you really realize that your mom can do it all. I just wanna thank my mom for taking me all over the east coast since age 8 for swim meets and being the best coach I've ever had. You can give me a thorough butt whooping in a practice but you're always right there for me after a bad race to tell me that was a pathetic but then hug me and tell me I'll get 'em next time. Love you Coach Mom.
